


May the Soldier, or Sailor, God Keep

by MDJensen



Series: Safely Rest 'verse/post-finale [4]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hugs, More tags to be added, happy crying, happy endings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28938342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MDJensen/pseuds/MDJensen
Summary: Standalone chapters, following Steve and Danny as they return to Oahu.
Series: Safely Rest 'verse/post-finale [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826170
Comments: 16
Kudos: 51





	May the Soldier, or Sailor, God Keep

Happy as Steve is— as he knows they both are— they’re also a bit grumpy by the time they make it to the baggage carousel. EWR to HNL is no joke. The first flight was nice, as far as six-hour flights go; and the layover was fine. But then they were delayed leaving LAX. Not to mention, it was a packed flight, and they weren’t anywhere near one another; so the second leg of their journey had been cramped and boring.

But it’s over now. And even though Danny refuses to do anything but grumble as they wait for their bags, Steve finds it in him to smile as his duffel rounds the carousel’s bend.

Tani’s volunteered to pick them up. (Steve reads this as Junior wanting to pick them up but needing emotional support to do so, which is perfectly understandable. You can need support even during the happy times; Steve knows that now.) She texts her location just as Danny’s bag arrives. In tired but comfortable silence, Steve shepherds them out the nearby doors.

And, _damn_. Most of the homesickness he’d been feeling had been for people (and a dog). But that first breath of Hawaiian air— humid and warm and instantly familiar— makes him realize how much he’d missed the island itself.

He actually pauses long enough that Danny has to nudge him onwards.

It’s a short walk to Tani’s car. Steve takes half a moment to wonder why she actually parked in a lot, but answers his own question before long:

She’s not scooping them up from a business trip or a long weekend.

This is an honest-to-god reunion. It deserves some space.

Steve very consciously thinks of this. And yet, he’s completely unprepared for the moment they see Tani, and Tani sees them, and opens the car door—

And Eddie tumbles out.

Danny had teased him earlier: told him to save his crying for the moment he saw his dog tonight. And yeah, okay, he’d known that there would be waterworks. Danny’s his best friend, obviously, but Eddie is his best friend, too; and their reunion was always going to be an emotional one.

Still his reaction surprises him a little.

Steve bursts into tears. 0 to 60 in a split second. He weeps aloud as he drops to his knees, trying to grab Eddie as Eddie does this frenzied tap dance in a circle around him.

It’s far from dignified, but in that moment, no other reaction makes sense.

It’s _Eddie_.

Holy shit, it’s his _dog_.

He’s aware, vaguely, that some sort of conversation is happening over his head; he hears Tani’s voice, and Grace’s. Too bad. Thirty more seconds. Eddie has finally settled enough for Steve to hug him, so he’s busy doing that at the moment, blubbing soft sobs into Eddie’s fur.

“This has been my life for the past month, by the way.” Danny’s speaking a little louder than the others, obviously intending to be heard. “He’s finally in touch with his emotions and, it turns out, he has a lot of them.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Grace replies. “Actually, Danno, I was expecting some _emotion_ when you saw me. I’m a little offended.”

“I’ve been talkin’ to you on the phone three times a week! It’s not the same.”

“If you say so.”

“ _If I say so_. Okay. Steve,” Danny grumbles, voice shifting, “I would like to go to bed, please? We have been in transit for like eighteen hours, and I’m tired?”

Steve laughs. With effort, pulls himself away from Eddie and smiles up at the blur of faces above him. Danny’s got his arm around Grace’s shoulders. Tani is standing with her hands on her hips, a knowing grin on her face— but to her side is a noticeable absence.

“Junior?” Steve croaks.

“He’s fine! Totally fine!” Tani reaches a hand down; helps him get to his feet and keeps him steady through the headrush. “He’s back at the house. I think he didn’t want to overshadow Eddie’s moment... or maybe he didn’t want Eddie to overshadow his. In which case, you’d think we would have left the dog at home and brought the guy, but. It’s Junes. Also, I’m here, too, by the way.”

Oh, yeah: she is. “Tani,” Steve breathes, wrapping her in a hug. Against his shoulder she starts laughing— doing her Tani cackle— and it makes him laugh too, though of course that pushes out a few fresh tears. Close to the surface as they are.

“I missed you, boss,” Tani sighs.

“I missed you too,” Steve manages, as he pulls away from Tani to hug Grace; and okay, it’s probably good that Junior’s not here. He’s already kind of a mess, as it is.

“Hey, Uncle Steve,” Grace laughs, as Steve swings her side-to-side so much she nearly loses her balance.

“Hey, Gracie,” Steve murmurs. His face is buried in her hair and he honestly can’t tell if he’s leftover-sniffly or if he’s crying again or if maybe he never stopped in the first place. “Thanks for letting me borrow Danno for so long.”

“I’m just glad he brought you back,” Grace whispers, hugging him with new fervor.

It’s Danny, of course, who finally drags him away and forces him into the car. They end up in the backseat with Eddie between them— they’re ending up in the backseat a lot today— and Steve puts his head against the window and shuts his eyes. Eddie nuzzles his knee.

The motion of the car tells him Tani’s heading out the parking lot, driving through the airport, pulling onto the highway. As they speed up, Steve lets out a shaky breath. Hugs himself around the waist with one arm and reaches out for Danny with the other; Danny laughs, and takes his hand.

“Is he okay?” Grace’s voice is quiet, almost lost to the road noise.

“He’s fine,” Danny replies, still chuckling. “He’s jetlagged.”

Jetlagged and weepy and very slightly carsick; but he’s maybe never been happier.

He’s had a lot of never-been-happier moments, lately.

Steve pries his eyes open eventually, wanting to see Eddie but wanting to take in the scenery too. It’s as he remembered it. But it’s fresh, too, after all these months away, and he finds himself marveling at once-familiar sights.

Amazed by things that he used to be used to.

Danny’s hand slips from his as they exit the highway, and Steve glances over to find his friend dozing. Naturally he pokes him awake. They’ll be home soon, and Danny won’t want to miss that moment (or maybe he won’t care, but Steve needs him there for it, anyway).

Danny snuffles and opens his eyes. He doesn’t take Steve’s hand again in that moment, but he does as they turn into the drive.

Junior’s on the front steps.

Steve squeezes Danny’s fingers, hard.

The car rolls to a stop. Trusting the others to look after Eddie, Steve opens his door and gets out.

Junior’s in pajama bottoms, and a threadbare Navy t-shirt that Steve recognizes as his own. His smile is wide, eyes swimming. Steve steps forward, hand outstretched; he and Junior tend to mirror one another instinctively, and when they hug, they typically pull one another in. Not this time. This time, his movements downright clumsy, Junior rushes over and flings both arms around Steve’s neck.

It’s forceful enough to knock Steve off balance. He grabs onto Junior in return, not only out happiness but also a desire not to fall on his ass. For a long, long moment, they stand, and cling, and tremble.

Tears come again, sloppy but silent, seeping into the fabric of Junior’s borrowed t-shirt as they hold one another tightly. When they finally pull apart, Steve’s unsurprised to see Junior crying too. And whether or not he’s supposed to, whether or not it’s a normal thing to do, Steve reaches up and wipes the kid’s face dry.

Junior leans against his hand. Laughs, until Steve starts laughing too.

“Steve,” Danny grumbles, sounding almost desperate now. “It’s so fucking far past bedtime that I can’t even see bedtime in the rear-view mirror. Huh?”

“Uh-huh,” Steve replies, absently; with one last smile he pulls away from Junior, who lets go without a fuss but latches instantly onto Tani. “You’re all just— crashing here, right? I can make pancakes in the morning."

“I’m sure not driving anymore,” Tani replies, at the same moment that Grace smiles and notes, “I’ve slept on that couch plenty of times.”

“Ooh, we can have a sleepover, Gracie!”

Grace laughs, and she’s never looked more grown-up than in this moment. “I think your boyfriend could use the company. I’ll be fine alone, seriously.”

Junior murmurs something to Tani, too quiet for the rest to hear, and Tani laughs and hugs him. “Okay. If you’re sure, Gracie.”

“I’m sure,” Grace says. Then Danny sighs, loudly.

“What are you sighing, what are you sighing for? We’re going to bed.”

“I’m sighing ‘cause the couch is taken,” Danny replies, though his expression says clearly that he knows what’s coming next. Steve rolls his eyes.

“What’re you, waiting for a formal invitation?”

Danny grins.

In one big group, then move inside. Tani and Junior head straight upstairs; Danny and Steve linger a moment in the living room, saying goodnight to Grace. But she waves them off before long. So, trailed by Eddie, they schlep upstairs and into the master bedroom.

Just inside the door, Steve stops, and stares.

Sloppy corners and uneven pillows remind him that he wasn’t the last person to make up this bed. The nightstand reminds him too. There’s a bottle of Advil, though he only takes Tylenol; there’s an empty water glass, though he always brings his downstairs in the morning. There’s a careworn paperback, one he’s never read.

The feeling in his stomach is one Steve can’t quite place; but it’s not a bad one. Maybe homesickness, again, but for a place he’s come back to? Homesickness, but not the kind that hurts?

If nothing else, he’s glad that this space wasn’t empty while he was gone.

Behind him, Steve hears the shower switch on; by default, he’s supposed to go first, since he’s faster. Apparently Danny’s getting away with it tonight, though. It’s not as though he’s going to drag him out.

He’s not going to lie in bed with his day-old airplane clothes, either, though, so Steve settles cross-legged on the floor and turns his full attention back to Eddie for a while. Then, before too long, the water switches off.

“That could almost have been a Navy shower,” Steve comments, climbing back to his feet as Danny emerges. Danny just smirks, maybe too tired for real conversation.

Steve showers just as quickly; still he assumes that Danny will already be asleep by the time he’s out. He’s wrong. Danny’s awake, though looking grumpier than ever; damp hair strays uncharacteristically over his forehead, framing an impatient expression.

“What happened to Navy showers?” he grumbles. “That took forever.”

“It _literally_ didn’t,” Steve replies, shutting the door to the bathroom.

“Whatever. Just, this sharing a bedroom, this isn’t our permanent solution,” Danny grumbles.

“Not our permanent solution.”

“Not because I don’t love you. But because I like being on my own schedule. I just do.”

“Not our permanent solution,” Steve repeats, “not because I don’t love you but because you snore.” He’s pretty glad it’s their temporary solution, though. He’s exhausted; his internal clock is telling him it’s past sunrise and he hasn’t slept, but he is so goddamn wound-up he’d probably have trouble settling, if not for Danny.

“Perfect. Amazing. It’s decided,” Danny mutters, as Steve crawls in besides him and wastes no time curling up nice and close. No, he won’t have any trouble settling, at all. In the past month they’ve moved beyond having to _say_ that they’re there for one another; Steve can literally feel the comfort of Danny’s presence, radiating just as surely as his physical warmth.

Steve shifts a little, getting comfortable, getting closer. Even months later, this bed feels familiar, too. He thinks of the mattress as new— purchased when he moved back to Hawaii— but in reality, that’s not new anymore. Now it creaks, and dips to cradle him in place. The sheets are light and cool as Danny tugs them higher, covering Steve as carefully as he covers himself.

But the mattress, the sheets: they aren’t why he’s drifting off already.

It doesn’t matter where he sleeps at night.

His home is the island itself. It’s Junior, and Eddie, and Grace, and Charlie.

His home is Danny Williams.

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh. Been feeling writer's blocky in the past weeks... felt like the only way through it was to just post _something_. Not fully pleased with this, but happy it's going up :)


End file.
